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One of those rare moments when you realise what's truly important in life and how you should be living yours?

This happened to me on a morning when I was 19. I had woken up and had lost the ability to speak.

An extreme over-night hypoglycemic episode had shut down the part of my brain responsible for turning thoughts into spoken words, so that when I went to say something, all that came out was the sound: 'aahhhhh.'

This went on for hours - even after my blood sugar was restored to normal levels. It was starting to look like it wasn't going to be temporary , and for a while I was fearing the worst.

Eventually, around mid afternoon, it did start coming back, and later that evening it was restored to full functionality. I could talk again!

Sometimes it takes almost losing something for us to appreciate just how incredible the small things in life (like being able to talk) really are.

As human beings, were exceptionally good at focusing on what's wrong with our world and ignoring all the amazing things about it.

This post is going to explore why this is the case, and look at some ways we can retrain our brains to start appreciating more of life.

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The Negativity Bias

We evolved from hunter gatherers who were surrounded by deadly predators in a harsh environment.

For the vast majority of our evolution as a species, our main priority was simply to avoid being eaten.

Because of this, our brains evolved in a way that made us extremely skilled at spotting danger (or 'negatives') in the environment - much more so than the positives.

The automatic tendency to focus on negatives was extremely useful in the jungle, but not so much now, where there is less chance of being eaten by a lion on your way to work. If you are in doubt about whether human beings still have a natural preference for negativity, take a quick glance at any news stand you see this week.

The good news is - modern science is now showing that the brain can be 'retrained' to override the negativity bias. The remainder of this post is a short summary of some of the most effective methods for doing so.

Take this pill

'You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.' John Kabat Zinn

If I told you there was a new pill you could take once per day which would:

What if I also told you there were no harmful side affects, it was free and 100% natural? Would you take it now?

Turns out the pill already exists - it's called meditation.

The main benefit of meditation is that it teaches you to stop identifying with emotions and thoughts. You don't carried away when things seem to be going really well, or when they seem to be going really badly either.

Over time, your emotional wellbeing becomes less reactive to external events. You become more centred, calm and 'less-fuckable-with.'

Every time you catch yourself making a complaint, you have to switch the band to the other wrist and begin from day 0 again.

You complete the challenge by keeping the rubber band on one wrist for a full 21 days.

Have a Gratitude Workout

'There is little question that how one uses one's attention, moment to moment, largely determines the kind of person one becomes.' Sam Harriss

Most things in life are like muscles - and have a 'use it or lose it' tendency to them.

If you work out regularly, muscles get stronger. If you don't, they get weaker.

Many studies are now showing the same goes for gratitude. Regularly practising gratitude has proven to increase happiness, self-esteem, mental strength, empathy, and reduces depression.

Instead of waiting for an epiphany or a near death experience to make you appreciate life more, you can get started today.

Here are some of the most effective methods for doing so:

1. Start the day by listing three things you're grateful for.If this is the first thing you think about in the morning, you’re setting your brain up to notice the positives throughout the day.

2. Write a thank you note.Can you think of someone who has had a big impact on your life?Research by Martin Seligman has shown that sharing a thank you note with someone who has helped you is the most effective thing you can do to increase happiness and strengthen a relationship at the same time.

3. End the day by listing your best moments and winsBy focusing on your best moments and wins throughout the day, you get to end every day on a high and carry momentum into the next morning.

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Epiphanies are few and far between.

When they happen, we get a rare glimpse of how we should really be living our lives and appreciating the limited amount of time we get on this weird and wonderful planet.

But sooner or later, they fade, our negativity bias takes over, and we go back to our old default ways of thinking.

The only way to make a lasting change is to retrain our 'default' automatic mode to be more positive.

Mediation, the 21 day no complaint challenge, and gratitude workouts are very effective (and scientifically proven) methods for doing so.